1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a commercial burglar/fire apparatus and method located in a common box which address the various concerns of and is sanctioned and approved by Fire Marshals and Authorities Having Jurisdiction who must sanction and approve all commercial fire alarm system installations
2. Description of Related Art
The security and fire alarm industry has seen a trend towards combination systems that provide fire and burglar alarm protection on one control panel. Some of the advantages of this technology are cost savings realized through the use of one control panel that performs the similar fire and burglar alarm processing, including zone input processing, alarm notification, local enunciation and central station reporting. Other advantages include reduced labor due the need to only install one control panel as well as the fact that many utility closets where the control panel is mounted will have space constraints, making it difficult to install separate fire and burglary alarm panels. Another benefit is the ability to both the fire and burglary events report the central station on one account number, which results in a cost savings to the alarm company.
However, there are drawbacks to the current technology combination systems, which impact their acceptance by Fire Marshals and Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJ), who must sanction and approve all commercial fire alarm system installations.
The Concerns of a Combined Burglar/Fire Device Include the Following:
The control panel power supply of a combination fire and burglary alarm system provides power to the fire alarm devices as well as the burglar alarm devices. If a problem occurs on the burglar alarm field power wiring, this will impact the fire alarm power, obstructing the operation of the fire alarm control panel.
Both the fire and burglar alarm system share the same backup battery power that is intended to provide operation of the fire system in the event of a power failure, typically for 24 hours. This is very difficult to achieve due to the fact that the burglar alarm portion of the system and its protective devices, such as keypads, motion detectors and glass break detectors draw considerably more current than the fire portion and devices. As a result, it is extremely difficult to achieve 24 hours of operation of both the burglar and fire alarm sections of the combinations alarm system during an AC power failure.
Most combination fire and burglar alarm systems use a common communication bus to communicate data to the fire alarm devices as well as the burglar alarm devices including keypads and zone expansion modules. If for any reason the burglary devices fail or are intentionally damaged, the communication bus may be compromised and the fire alarm functionality will be obstructed.
During service of the burglar alarm portion of the combination system, the fire alarm must be deactivated. This is due to the fact that both the fire and burglar functions of the control panel share common resources, making it impossible to service the burglar alarm devices, which share common communications and power with the fire devices.